Samsung has been keen on its efforts on VR. The company has been vigorously pushing the platform forward by releasing new VR hardware and services that add value to its Gear VR line. On the 2018 Olympics in Korea, Samsung plans on live streaming the games to Gear VR customers all over the world. This will be the first time in the world that live streaming has occurred on virtual reality. The news comes at a great time when the  price of the Gear VR just got slashed by half from $100 to $50 (KES 5,000) in the US. Other parts of the world still get a reduced price of KES 8,000 ($80) from the company’s official website.

To make the ambitious live streaming a success, Samsung has already met with the ICT vice minister of Korea, delegates from LG and also members of KT telecom. Pulling off such a move will require a very fast and reliable network with the qualities of 5G service. Korea has always been at the forefront of network advancements, it’s also the home country of Samsung and LG so there is a very high likelihood that the project will be a success.

During the previous Olympics at Rio, Samsung gave their VR customers access to exclusive pre-recorded footage of sports and other events happening in the arena. This time round, the company is looking to build on that momentum.

Virtual Reality as a whole has been embraced by many developers and content providers. They include Netflix which has VR movies, Facebook 360 for watching videos, and Google Daydream for apps and all kinds of other VR content. The unique feeling of being immersed at the center of the action as if you were in the middle of the pitch or the battle field is what gives the technology its appeal. In Kenya, selected Samsung shops offer a first-hand experience of the VR right in the store. All you need to start enjoying VR is the headset which goes for around KES 8,000 to 10,000 and a supported smartphone. Currently the Samsung Gear VR only supports the Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy Note 7, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, Galaxy S7 and lastly the Galaxy S7 Edge.

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